Contemporary Communication

Just a quick note that I'll be traveling for a little while,but I'll be back with new content soon!

In today's episode, we look at how Plato uses a sophistic rhetorical trope in making his arguments about the nature of love, and explore what Socrates' critique of his first speech could teach us about the anxiety we feel when we blunder by saying something horrible and borderline impious. 

We have a longer episode today as I shift to a weekly format. :-) Today we look at Socrates's first speech, his revision of Lysias's speech, and how he frames the argument that the lover is not to be preferred--but there are a few tricks of framing that Socrates will use here, which we will explore later. One main idea to ponder here, how does all of this talk of love apply to technology? 

In Lysias's speech, read by Phaedrus, we hear that one should prefer the advances of the sober-minded non-lover, and in today's episode, we will explore why Socrates initially praises the speech before rejecting its argument. I hope you enjoy! 

Taking another walk in the forest, today we will explore Socrates' reasons for declining to explain a myth to his companion.  Using the rhetorical device of "Apophasis," and introducing an explanation for a myth by denying that one should spend time explaining myths, Socrates also explains the relationship between self-knowledge and common knowledge. Join me for a too-brief exploration of this topic. 

Today's episode is a little bit different. Not only is it proof positive that I am not an audio engineer, but it is also a chance to think about Plato's dialogue on writing in the proper context--outside. Join me as we begin to ask about the relationship between writing and wisdom through Plato's Phaedrus. 

In this episode we explore how you might read an ancient text like Plato, beginning with some questions to help frame your experience with the text, we then explore how Socrates invites us to know ourselves before ending with some implications for the dynamics of faith. Don't forget to leave feedback if you enjoy the episode, or if you have more questions and suggestions for future episodes. 

This was a fun little bit that was eventually cut from the media culture course, but I wanted to revisit with you here today. It is an attempt to understand how artificial languages impose themselves on the structure of our shared reality, so we wander into some dense weeds, but feel free to send me your thoughts and questions as you listen along!

Today we dig a little bit deeper into the definition of media ecology, asking questions about "what makes a discipline" and turning to a few definitions from the Media Ecology Association. If you enjoyed today's episode, please let me know!

In this episode, we explore the grounding of this course in Media Ecology and try to define some of the major terms like "media" and "digital" that will crop up over the rest of the summer. 

The semester is over, so we have a little bit more time to revisit old ideas as we unwind from the pressures of the last few weeks, and what better way to do that then through archiving an old course? During this season of Contemporary Communication, I'll be taking you through an old course of mine called Media Culture in a Digital Age. My version of the course has been taken out of rotation, so I thought this would be an interesting opportunity to revisit some of the ideas we shared there. You can find out more on the companion website: https://sites.google.com/students.lcc.lt/mcdaarxiv/home But you'll need to be an LCC alumnus or a current student to access the materials there.

What is the relationship between failure and time? With a nod to the work of Carlo Rovelli, this episode looks at some conceptualizations of time and their correlation with the aims of ancient rhetorical genres. 

What does it mean, what does it really mean, to feel like a failure? Today I take you through a recent failure of my own, and attempt to make sense of what it has meant for me this past week. 

Today we bring the discussion back around to my favorite political philosopher, Albert Camus, and his short essay on the myth of Sysiphus. 

Today we talk about some of the implications of dramatic genre. What does it mean to view something as a tragedy or a comedy? Is it possible to create a modern tragedy? How does comedy change the world? Join in the discussion by sending me a message for our next episode!

Today I try to explain why we normally include an "Ethnodrama" in the course "Rhetoric and Social Change." 

As we make the transition to remote teaching, I wanted to introduce you to my teaching philosophy. My focus here is on Malcolm Knowles concept of "Andragogy" or the teaching of adult learners. Let me know what questions you have, or suggestions for future episodes. I'm here for you! -Dr. Jones

As we move our LCC courses online, I've set up a simple podcast so that I can keep in touch with all of you. Let me know what you want to hear about over the next 6 weeks and I'll do my best to accommodate!